Oblivion (Here We Are)

This is my 2012 NaNoWriMo.
If you would like to find me on nanowrimo.org, my username is Toomanytacos.

Synopsis:

In the middle of The Rift, an endless desert expanse, is the city of Oblivion. It is filled mostly with rouges, outcasts, and orphans. There's no other civilization in sight. They're all alone to fend for themselves. The whole world has forgotten their existence.

Cassandra wakes up one day to find the whole city deserted, as though everyone packed their bags and headed south in a hurry. She teams up with Ross, Kale, Kat, Bubba and Jamie, a couple of other kids left behind, and together they attempt to survive. Why has everyone left? Where did they go? How come only these five kids were left behind? And what is the foreboding darkness that lurks over Oblivion?


Part 1: A State of Oblivion

I woke up with a strange feeling of dread. It was like walking up the stairs to my bedroom in the dark. Thinking there is one more stair than there is.  Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a moment of dark surprise.
This is how I felt, walking down the stairs .  If you woke in the middle of the night to find every bed in your orphanage empty, I'm sure you'd be able to relate.
"Hello?" The floorboards creaked. "Girls?" The silence was deafening. "Headmistress?"
Nothing.
Shivering, I rubbed my bare arms. The days were always hot, but at night the temperatures dropped. Though it wasn't the cold getting to me.
I tried a light switch. Nothing happened. No power. I tiptoed through the bright moonbeams that cast eerie shadows onto the hardwood floor. I bumped into a table a squealed.
Nothing stirred.
Tiptoeing to the front door, I opened it. It creaked on rusty hinges. I stepped out. My bare feet stung on the cold ground. I tried to remain calm, but inside my heart was pounding.
Where had everyone gone?
I darted past the sign that read 'Oblivion Orphanage' and into the nearby alley. Coming to the gutter I climbed it with practiced ease. I clambered up to my special place, the roof. From there I could see most of the city and take daredevil leaps from rooftop to rooftop.
Not a single light flickered across the city of Oblivion. Not a sound met my ears but my own breath. I blinked at the bright moon on the sandy horizon. I thought I saw something, but blinked again and there was nothing to see. Nothing but deafening silence and still air. I shivered in my camisole and shorts.
Nothing.
"Is somebody there?" I shouted, my own voice startling me as it ripped through the quiet.
"I'm here." Came a voice.
I spun around, not having expected an reply.
A rooftop away stood a boy about my age, sixteen.
He wore a nightgown and black jeans, his dark eyes bore through me. "Who are you?"
Wow. Realizing I was thinking such crazy girl thoughts, I struggled to regain my voice. "Cassandra. Ah, I mean Cassy." I amended, flustered.
He took a running leap onto my roof, stopping five feet in front of me. I don't know why I counted. "I'm Ross." He brushed his dark hair out of his chocolate eyes. He could actually pull off the nightgown.
"Hey." I said lamely.
Turning to the moon I tucked a stray hair behind my ear. Ross stepped up next to me. "Where do you think everyone's gone?"
I bit the inside of my lip and my voice came out in a harsh whisper: "I don't know."

"I've searched the past five blocks." Ross motioned back toward my neighbourhood.
"No one?" I asked, fiddling with a fly-away lock of mousy brown hair.
He shook his head.
"Me too." Thumbing in the opposite direction I sat down for a rest on the curb. Ross sat down beside me. I tried to ignore his shoulder brushing mine.
Together we had searched ten blocks for any other people left behind. We had come up with nothing.
The sun was beginning to come up as we parted to go our separate ways.
"See you again?" I asked. Was that shy? Since when was I shy?
I could have imagined it, but there may have been a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He nodded.
"Okay." I waved a quick goodbye and scampered away. I didn't have to look back to know his chocolate eyes watched me go.
Back at the empty orphanage I trudged up stairs to the bedroom and plopped down on my bed. Pulling the thin sheets over my shivering body I fell in to a dreamless sleep.

I woke up the next day with the hot desert sun shinning through the large windows. Throwing off the sheets I peeped out the window. The sun was high in the sky. A strong wind had swept up. It sent miniature dust devils spinning through the empty streets.
The sound of falling objects made me jump. Taking the stairs two at a time I burst in to the kitchen.
"Oof." Someone had been standing in front of the door when I barged in. Now Ross lay sprawled out on the  kitchen floor,  food scattered about.
"Oh, Ross!" A pretty girl with golden ringlets hastened to help him.
I just stood in the doorway, gawking.
A California surfer dude stared at me as if I was an angel descending from heaven.  From the looks of the food in his—dare I say—muscular arms, I had caught him in the act of raiding my refrigerator.
"What are you doing?" I blurted.
Ross regained his composure, with the help of the blonde who glared icy daggers at me. Those daggers meant to say "Watch what you're doing or someone might get hurt." but I knew what she meant. "He's mine, so hands off."
I frowned. In your dreams, sister.
"We were trying to find lunch." Offered the surfer dude.
I turned to Ross. "Oh, so we've know each other for a couple hours so feel free to stop by and raid my refrigerator." I growled at him and he shrugged. "Who are these people?" Hand on my hip I waved a hand at the intruders.
Surfer Dude spoke up again. "I'm Kale and that's my twin sister, Kat."
Kat gave me a cute but icy wave.
Ross shrugged and nodded. A man of many words.
"Well then, by all means!" I plopped in to a stool at the counter, seething, out of witty remarks.
"Pancakes?" Kale suggested, holding up a spatula. "Kat's a great cook."
I warmed a little to the idea of my favorite meal. Then deflated at the mention of Miss Sunshine Curls.
She was reluctant at first, but it took only one glance at me and my expression.  She soon had spatula in hand and flour stamped on her rosy cheeks. If I hadn't know better I would have through she had floured her cheeks on purpose. I didn't.
I growled under my breath, but her pancakes were good. Trying to get her off my mind, I asked Kale, "Where did you meet Ross?"
He shoveled a forkful of pancake into his mouth and grinned at me, making my heart skip. "We ran into each other in the middle of town. Gave Kat quite a scare." He chuckled and I couldn't help but grin a little.
"More?" Kat placed another pancake in front of the boys and sat down to her own.
I reached across the table to steal one of hers.
"Hey!"
I tried to turn my evil grin into one of an innocent angel. It wasn't easy.
"So," Kale wiped a bead of syrup off his killer jawline. "Where do you think everyone's gone?"
Ross and I shrugged.
Kat shook her head.
It came to me that we were all taking this whole situation quite well. I mentally shrugged. Shock ? Plus, I was a loner, independent, one tough cookie. Soon this would all catch up with us.
I cleared my throat. All eyes turned to me, watching. Kat was more suspicious than anything else.
"I guess the important question is," I pause for dramatic effect. "what are we going to do about it?"

We already knew it. We were all going to stick together. No one actually said it. But when you're the only known people for miles, it kind of just happens. We decided to use the orphanage as our temporary HQ.
On another subject: turns out the fridge wasn't working. It was all due to—you guessed it—lack of electricity. The stove was gas heated, so with a little trouble at least we could cook pancakes. One small upside to my somewhat downer of a life. Hurrah.
There was only small amount of food left in the kitchen, and what was left seemed picked over. So first off we decided to hunt for nonperishable food items. Then we also decided the best place to find food was a grocery store. We brainiacs set out to go shopping.
I tried the front door. "Locked." I announced, all miss captain obvious over here.
Kat put on a look of a damsel in distress and turned to Ross in a way that I could only describe a flouncy. All floofy dress and springy curls.
We all looked a Ross, as if he might have the key to the back door of Walmart.
In reply he grabbed a nearby shopping cart and shoved it in to the glass doors. They shattered into a million pieces.
He motioned to the doors with a flourish as alarms blared. "Intrude."
A we picked our way in to the store I said to Ross above the noise, "I like your shopping style."
He grinned and my heart fluttered. Not from the thrill of breaking and entering a grocery store. Which, I'm sure, every kid would just love to do.
I heard Kat gasp a little and turned to look for the problem. My jaw dropped.
The whole store had been ransacked, entire isles of empty shelves and ruined products. It was as though the place had been cleared out in a hurry.
"Alright." Hands on hips, I decided to take charge."Let's split up and look around. And will someone turn that alarm off?"
We split. A few minutes later we met up again. We had only a few cans of beans, uncooked pasta, a jar of pickles, and a mesh bag of squashed oranges. The alarm still buzzed in our ears. I was beginning to fear I'd go deaf. We left the store disappointed, with hardly any food, ringing ears and dampened spirits. With even more despair we realized that the alarm was audible from the orphanage.
"Should we camp somewhere else?" I suggested.
Ross shrugged.
"Nah," said Kale, shaking his head. "Both Ross and Kat and I's houses are super close as well, so where would we go?"
"I want to leave." Kat pouted. "That dreadful noise is hurting my ears. I think my head might burst!"
I allowed myself to imagine what that might look like and grinned.
"This part of town has all the things we need close by." Kale pointed out. Ever helpful.
I nodded. "Then we'll stay."
Kat protested, but her brother managed to convince her we should stay. If convincing her was even possible, that is. At least he managed to shut her up.
"Should we raid another store?" I asked with mock enthusiasm. "I know of another one nearby..."
I was cut off by a chorus of loud groans.
"No? Well, alright then, if you insist."

That night I awoke with a start.
Nothing. The silence rang throughout the orphanage.
I slipped out of bed, past the sleeping Kat, down the stairs and into the foyer. Pushing away the bolt I opened the front door a crack.
Behind me, the lights flickered on. I spun to face Kat.
"Where are you going?" She demanded.
I sneered. "You snore, Kitty Kat."
"Where are you going?" Ross and Kale stood in the hall.
"The alarm stopped. Or didn't you notice?" I frowned. "That means either it turned off automatically, ran out of juice, or..."
"Someone turned it off." Kale finished my sentence.
"Right. Now, who's coming with me?"
The boys volunteered and Kat, unwilling to be left behind, followed along. I would have preferred if she would've stayed behind. To be eaten by a monster, alone in the night. But that was too much to hope.

The store seemed to be exactly the way we had left it. Shattered glass, overturned shopping cart, cleared shelves, but no blaring alarm.
My sneakers crunched on the broken glass as we entered the building. Moonlight shone through the open door, casting eerie shadows down the empty isles.
"Hello?" Kale's voice echoed off the high ceiling.
Kat shivered in the darkness. "Can we turn on a light?"
"No power." I reminded her.
"Shh." Ross whispered. "Listen."
There was a sound of clanging metal in the far corner of the store.
There's someone here.
I broke into a sprint. By the time I reached the last isle , the light had faded and I was left standing in total darkness.  All too late, I realized there could be something standing right in front of me. I wouldn't even know it. Unsure whether to turn back or creep forward, I froze. A cold hand touched my cheek. I stifled a shriek.
"Sorry." It was Ross. He had followed without my hearing."What do you think? Should we take a look?" A flashlight flickered into existence.
"Why didn't you tell me you had brought a flashlight?" I asked, as he shone it in my face.
Lighting up his own face from below he replied: "You didn't ask."
In the corner of the building lay an over turned shelf, lying next to an exit. I tried the door. It was unlocked, but at a glance the alley was empty.
"No one." I said. "If anyone was here they're long gone."
Ross righted the shelf.
"I suppose it could have fallen over on it's own."
"Unlikely."
"Could have been an animal?"
"How did it get out?"
"The door."
"Animals can't open doors, Cass."
No one's ever called me Cass before. "Maybe it was a smart dog. All it would have to do is push." I like it.
"How did it get in?" He waved towards me and the door.
I thumbed toward the entrance. "I'm not sure you've noticed but there's a shattered door out front. Which," I added. "I believe you are responsible for."
"Gee, you've got an answer for everything." He flicked my forehead without even cracking a smile.
"Hey guys!" Kale called. "Take a look at this."
He stood by the entrance, behind the counter, next to a metal box filled with wires. Holding up some of the wires he said: "Some of them have been cut."
Shining the flashlight at the mounted box, Ross vaulted over the counter. The boys took a closer look.
"Snipped clean in half." Kale added.
"How could a dog cut wire? Answer me that."
"Teeth?"
"These have been cut with wire cutters." Kale offered, holding up a pair.
"Who says dogs can't use wire cutters?"
"They have no opposable thumbs."
"Raccoon?"
"What are the chances it would know to use it to cut wires?"
"Trained raccoon? Maybe it read the package."
Kale laughed. "Honestly you guys."
"Fine," I shrugged. "you have me there."
"Let's go." Kat begged. "It's cold and dark and I'm still tired."
Her brother yawned in agreement and we returned to bed.

The next morning we had a breakfast of peanut butter on toast with pickles. It was the only thing we could find. I heard a sound and froze with a pickle halfway to my mouth. It came again - a knock on the door.
Kale sat, wide-eyed. "That's someone knocking at the door."
"Someone's at the door." Kat echoed.
The knock came again.
Kale grabbed a saucepan and we made our way to the door, not making a sound. I pressed one eye up to the peephole. There was no one there.
The knock came again and I turned to the others. "I can't see anyone." I whispered, spooked.
Kale raised the saucepan. "On three. One. Two. Three!"
I flung open the door and jumped back to let Kale charge. He didn't move, just stood there with an odd look of surprise on his face.
I peeked out the door.
A small boy with fiery red hair and a sharp, freckled face stood on the doorstep.  He had a laptop tucked under one arm and backpack thrown over the other shoulder. He looked to be around thirteen.
"Hullo."
"Greetings." He responded. Pushing a pair of rectangular glasses up the bridge of his button nose, he smiled.  Turning to Kale he remarked: "A saucepan?"
Kale actually flushed and lowered the metal object.
"My name is Aleksander the Third" He extended his hand, which I shook, bewildered.  "But you can call me Bubba."
"I'm Cassy." I said. "This is Ross, Kale, and Kat."
He pushed past us into the kitchen with blatant curiosity. "I know. I heard you speaking last night and located your Facebook pages." Picking up a sandwich he examined it.
"You were the one in the store!" Kat exclaimed.
Taking the saucepan from Kale, Ross placed it back on the stove. "Cass thought you were a dog."
"Or a raccoon." I corrected.
"You stalked our Facebook pages?" This from Kale, who looked bewildered and alarmed.
"Yup. Rebel, twins, runaway." He said, pointing to each of us in turn with a pickle.
Taking the green object away from the strange boy I guessed: "Computer geek?"
Bubba's freckled face broke out into a blinding, contagious grin. "Scientist. Inventor. I'm many things. Aristocrat too, I suppose. I live on the top floor of the tower."
Ross looked impressed. "You mean the tower?"
"That's the one." Nodding, Bubba took a spoonful of peanut butter and spoke between nutty mouthfuls. "The entire building is complete empty. I was going to search the city to the north for other people. The sound of the alarm drew me here, southeast. Otherwise I never would have found you guys. I didn't come across one single living thing on my way here. As far as my knowledge, we're the only ones here. There could be more."
"We'll have to look." Ross jabbed Kale with a pickle and a sword fight broke out.
Bubba watched, entranced. I thrust a pickle into Kat's hands and leaned around Bubba. "So," I began, offering him a pickle. "the question of the hour: will you join us?"
Letting loose another one of those glowing grins, he accepting the pickle. "Of course."
A pickle brawl ensued. It began with a set of guidelines and ended in flying vegetables.

"How does this work exactly?" Kale asked, pointing the thingy-detector at me, which let out faint beeps.
It had been several days since Bubba arrived at our doorstep. Since that time he had taken us to the skyscraper and shown us his "laboratory." Filled with experiments and contraptions, it included lanterns fueler by sticks of butter. As well as a generator assembled out of an electric drill, wires, a beater, and a spoon. The entire suit had no walls, only windows on all four sides and dividing the living areas. Zero privacy, I had commented. Bubba said it didn't matter because it was usually him alone. The bedroom and bathrooms were a floor down. Bubba had managed to reboot the generator, giving us light. It also saved us from climbing all one hundred flights of stairs. We decided to move into the building due to this crucial fact, so for an afternoon we spent time taking what few belongings we had to our new home. In the evening I beheld the most marvelous sunset, all fiery auras and flaming sunlight, reflecting off the golden buildings. I spent a long time watching it set. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
Now we were preparing to set out in search for any other people we might find using Bubba's strange inventions.
Hoisting his backpack full of what-nots, Bubba answered Kale's question patiently. "It's really quite simple. This series of mechanics uses an assortment of electrical cell capsules to power a program which uses an array of coding that sends a signal to the monitor, sending out a radar that detects the thermal energy of a personage and or creature of vast quantities of energy."
This explanation was met with blank stares.
"It goes ding when there's stuff."
With four understanding nods we set off to the west.
We found nothing for a countless number of blocks, just empty buildings and the dust that always blew through the streets.
"Why doesn't it detect us?" Ross asked once.
Bubba grinned, happy to explain. "I've entered a setting that blocks out five immediate triggers - us."
"There's nothing on the screen." I pointed out. "Does that mean we're the only ones here?"
"That or they're simply out of range. I don't have the proper equipment to create a device to cover the range of the entire city, and besides something with that amount of power would not be portable."
"How big would it be exactly?"
Bubba stroked his chin in thought. "Considering the limited technology available, about the size of your average mini-fridge."
Kale whistled.
"Of course, if one were to stick it on wheels it could be pushed around, but not easily."
"There's something!" Kat exclaimed, pointing to the screen excitedly. "Oh." She frowned. "It's gone now."
"Sure it wasn't your imagination?" I asked.
Bubba shrugged. "Could have moved out of range. Let's follow. Which direction was it in?"
"Southwest." She answered, pointing.
Shaking his head grimly, Ross mumbled. "That's toward the slums."
Whether he didn't hear or didn't care, Bubba hurried forward."
Breaking into a jog, the rest of us followed.
"It's back again." Kale announced through puffs of breath.
"Looks fairly small," came Bubba's professional opinion. "could be a child. Or an animal."
"We're getting closer."
Our pace quickened and tension grew. The detector beeped louder and louder in beating rhythm with our pounding footsteps.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
My heart leaped to my throat as we flew around a corner. A scream pierced the stillness. The group was thrown into chaos, stumbling over one another and crying out. Thrown to the ground, my hands scraped across concrete. Someone's foot landed a kick to my stomach and air left my lungs, leaving me winded. I gasped, blackness overtaking my vision. Laying face down, I waited for my senses to return, for panic to diminish. Would it ever disappear?
Something was drawn across my face.
Blinking, I realized that this something was a nose. A black nose. And that nose was attached to an animal. That animal was a large, spotted dog.
Ross shooed it away. "Beat it."
"Are you okay?" A shadow fell over my face as Kale peered down at me. Helping me to my feet he brushed my hair softly out of my eyes. The blotches returned and I stumbled unsteadily. "Gotchya." He reassured me, setting me back on my feet.
Flushed, I nodded at my shoes. "I - I'm fine."
"Hey." He grabbed my hands, which were covered in scrapes and blood.
"It's fine - really." I rubbed them uncomfortable on my jeans.
The dog trotted up to Kale and prodded his hand with it's nose. "Hiya buddy." Crouching next to it he scratched it's head. It was not a pretty creature - scruffy,  lanky and thin - and I realized it was not, in fact, spotted but simply covered in charcoal dust.
Traveling from person to person the large hound sniffed each of us in turn, tail wagging furiously. Bubba laughed as it reared back and placed it's paws on his shoulders. Kat patted it's great head hesitantly and Ross glared it with a mixture of disgust and contempt.
And that is how Dusty came to stay with us.

I stood on the rooftop, the highest point in Oblivion, overlooking the city and the never ending desert expanse, which reared up in the darkness and disappeared beyond my vision. The moon hung in the starless sky above me like a midnight sun. Shivering in the cool breeze I embraced the dizzying heights, inching towards the edge until my toes touched cold nothingness. I closed my eyes, daring the wind to push me into the darkness below. Something, not quite fear but a eerie chill, like the feeling of being watched by something sinister, made my eyes flicker open.
A figure stood on the farthest rooftop. It swallowed all light, like an endless void of darkness. But two spheres glowed golden like unearthly lanterns in the dead of night. As I stared across the distance a cold hand gripped my chest and squeezed, causing all air to leave my lungs. I gasped for breath.
Then the beast ducked out of sight and I was left wondering if it had all just been a nightmare.

Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The sun hung low in the sky, sending golden rays down the alleyways as we trudged through the vacant streets. It had been nearly a week of futile search. Food was once again running low, as was motivation. In a silent procession we tramped in time to the ceaseless beating of the cold-hearted machine.
Suddenly Dusty gave a sharp bark and took off down a nearly hidden passage.
"Hey, bud!" Kale called after him, but the dog didn't return.
"I'll get him." I offered, growing tired of monotonic repetition. "I'll catch up with you later or just head back to camp."
Upon saying this I hurried off down the narrow passage. Here the sun didn't manage to shine and the gloom was cool. My sneakers beat on the cobblestone. "Dusty?" I called, my voice echoing against the buildings and vanishing into the darkening sky between the roofs. A familiar whine drew me forward. The dog stood next to one of the many blackened doors that lined either side of the crowded path. He pressed his muzzle between the door and frame, paws scraping on the rough wood.
"What is it boy? Come on, let's go." My only reply was a pitiful look and a whine that repeated all down the alley, casting desperation into every corner.
My hand brushed the rugged wood of the door. Pressing an ear against it I listened. Dusty fell quiet and I beyond the barrier I heard a shuffle, then a sniffle. I raised one hand hesitantly to knock. "Is someone there?"
Another sniffle.
"Who's in there?"
"Me." Came a small voice, weak and timid. "I'm here. The door's stuck, I can't get out. I'm dying."
I tried the door, alarmed. The handle was jammed. Glancing around frantically for some aid, I found nothing. Dusty still scraped a paw against the brittle wood, leaving long, shallow gashes.
"Sweetie," I said through the door. "Move away from the door. I'm gonna try and break in."
Shuffling, then silence.
I stepped back until my back touched the frigid wall opposite, then charged, slamming my shoulder against the door. It creaked in protest, but didn't give way. Retreating, I got ready for my next attack.
Slam. Nothing. Try again. Slam. A dent. Gritting my teeth I rubbed my sore shoulder and blinked away stinging tears. Once more. Back pressed against stone, I took a deep breath. I pushed off, sending my shoulder into the wood as hard as I could. The door fell away and I fell through the doorway, splinters biting into my skin. Forcing myself to my feet I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the gloom.
A tiny girl lay in the corner, eyes wide and fearful, shining in what faint light made it into the room. She appeared weak and thin, barely able to keep her head up.
She must have been locked in here a long time, I thought, she must be dying of hunger.
"Can you walk?" I asked hoisting her to her feet and hissing with pain. Her small hand landed on my arm and I felt something sticky between us. She faltered and I scooped her up in my arms, ignoring the pain. "You're coming with me." I whispered firmly. "You're going to be fine."
Transferring the child on to my back I stepped over the rubble of the door and began the long trek back to the tower.
Dusty trotted alongside with concern, licking the crimson stains that ran down to my wrist. I stumbled in the waning light. Yet the failing breath of the girl's breath on my neck drove me forward.
At last, the front doors of the skyscraper came into view and I staggered into what I called home.
"What's your name?" I asked finally.
The girl gave a whimper. "Jamie."
"I'm Cassy." I said. "I'll take care of you. You wont die, I promise."

It had been about a month since that night I had first woken up to find the city deserted and met the boy on the roof. The detector had fallen completely silent, and we had given up our search, looking instead for necessities and things to make life more comfortable. We became like a close knit family. Jamie was nursed back to health and became my closest companion. The boys often fought in the most brotherly of ways, and even Kat and I reached an unspoken agreement to put up with each other politely. And so our lives continued in the desolate city that was our home.
I first saw it coming when Jamie and I stood on the rooftop, a habit we'd come to do every night together when sleep wouldn't come. It came from the north, a darkness like never seen before. And it moved. It stole across the horizon, devouring the light. I first thought it was simply a cloud, but then I saw the cursed golden glow and I knew what I had seen was no cloud, no dream, but a waking nightmare.
"Jamie, get inside." I whispered hoarsely, shielding her behind me.
"What is it, Cassy?" She breathed. "What are they?"
"I don't know. Jamie, please go inside."
Tugging at my shirt she forced me to turn to her. "Cassy," Her wide eyes reflected the moon. They were filled with fear. "you're coming too, aren't you?"
"Yes. Go wake the others."
She darted off, and I was left alone in the cold, watching the black mass move with frightening speed across the sand. That same feeling, stronger now, gripped my lungs and I found I could hardly breathe.
Turning, I bolted towards the door.
Beep.
I took the stairs two at a time.
Beep.
My feet pounded across the cold stone floor.
Beep.
In the dark hallway I hurled into something solid and fell to the ground.
"Ouch! Who's there? What's wrong?" It was Kat.
"There's something coming, come look." I said, groping around for her hand, and upon finding it, dragging her back up the stairs to the room of glass.
We both gave a gasp as we took in the sight. They were much closer. The entire desert had been swallowed by the mass of alien beings and now they swarmed into the outskirts of the city. They crawled over buildings, covering them like a putrid flood.
"What are they?" Kat wondered, fearful.
My breath fogged the window, blurring the lines. "I don't know."
The others came up behind us, take in the sight with awe.
"They're showing up on the detector, though they don't seem to be giving off any body heat." Bubba announced, bewildered. "But - that's impossible!"
"Well it's happening." Kale said. "What should we do? Are you sure they're dangerous?"
"Anything living but dead is dangerous in my book." Ross scoffed.
Turning to the others I began to pace. "Lock the front doors, and any doors in between us and them. They can climb buildings, so make sure every window is secure."
"How well can we hide?" Asked Kat. "If we can keep them from finding us, perhaps we'll be alright."
"If they do find us, we'll need weapons." Ross volunteered.
"They're like shadow." Kale said. "Maybe light will ward them off. Can we turn on every light in the building?"
Frowning, Bubba shook his head. "The generator wont be able to take it. And besides, any light will alert them to our presence."
"Guys, you'd better hurry." Behind us, Jamie still stood by the window. With a look of dread she turned, motioning to the sight outside. The shadow beings trickled down the streets like a poisonous liquid. "They're coming."
"Alright. Ross, Bubba, find weapons and form a plan of defense. Kat, Jamie, secure the top floor. I don't want one single open crack. Kale, I guess you're with me. We're going to secure the lower floors. We'll communicate using Bubba's comm units. Everything clear?" I took a deep breath and surveyed the situation. "Okay, let's lock her down."
We each took off in opposite directions, Kale and I heading to the elevator, with comm units in our pockets and Dusty at our heels.
Pressing the button for the bottom floor, he turned to me with an uneasy grin. "Are you scared?"
"No." I lied.
After a long moment, the doors slid open and we hurried out.
The lobby was dark except for the moonlight that streamed through the glass doors. Sofa's and tables lay covered in sheets of collected dust.
"The doors have an electronic lock, and a manual one. Bubba will activate the first from his computer, but it's our job to set the next, an create a barrier." Kale told me, already locking the main doors. I set to locking all the surrounding ones. "The back door is jammed and locked, so we don't need to worry about that end, but we'll need to block all three doors: Main, lobby exit, and stairs from the other side."
"Let's do it then." I agreed, grabbing a couch. With Kale's help I propped it up against the glass of the main doors. Together we barred the entrances with every object we could find.
"Top floor is secured." Came Kat's voice. "We left the front door open for your and Kale's return."
"Good going." I replied, speaking into my handheld device. "Wait for my signal. Bubba, have you set the electrical" Then, turning to Kale I said, "I'll secure the stairs." just as the room was thrown into total darkness.
There was a moment of confusion before I recognized the absence of moonlight as the presence of our worst fear. The sound of a ominous humming met me ears. It was unexplainable, yet it send spasms of terror through my body.
"They're here." I croaked, barely daring to breath lest we be discovered. "Go, go, go!" Diving into the stairwell, I shut the door behind me, only to find that Dusty had followed me. I looked through the window of the door, ignoring the mutt at my heels. A drumming met my ears, a constant pounding that built up like a dam. Then it burst. "They're trying to break down the door." I hissed into my comm unit. The pounding grew and I could hear the door giving way. "It's like they know we're here." Comprehension dawned on me. "They know we're here." I breathed.
"What do you mean they know we're here?" Ross demanded.
Turning the lock in the handle I hurried to explain. "A couple weeks ago I saw one from afar. It stood on a far rooftop, watching me."
Ross growled. "And you never thought to tell us?"
"It disappeared, I thought I had imagined it!" I cried desperately.
Kale's voice came through. "I'm at the second floor now. Hurry!"
There was the sound of something shattering and I knew it was the main door.
"Run!"
Pelting up the flight of stairs with Dusty following close behind, I could sense more than hear the Shadows reach the stair door.
"Even if they're smart enough, they can't come up the elevator as long as I'm using it." Kale rasped. "Bubba, can you make sure the elevator doesn't go down?"
"Sure thing, but only so long as you're in the elevator."
"Cassy!" Kale gave a shout as I came into view. "Get in!" He stood holding the doors open and waved me towards him. Dusty quickly joined him.
I had options, and when I heard the stairwell door break, I made up my mind. "No."
"What?" He yelled with alarm.
"I'm going to lock all the doors up the stairs. It will slow them down."
"Are you crazy?" Ross cried. "That's one hundred floors!"
"I'm coming with you." He said, jaw set, determined.
The Shadows were crawling up the stairs below, behind me, up the walls.
"No!" I made for the stairs. "No. You have to stay with the elevator. It's the only way. Now go!"
Reluctantly, he let the doors close.
"Meet you upstairs." The comm crackled.
Adrenaline rushing through my veins, I pounded up the stairs. The humming followed me, reaching out with chilling fingers. I slammed the first door, locking it in place. One. I hurtled up the next steps. Two. My comm gave off static. Three.
"I'm going to start locking the doors starting from ninety nine and heading down towards you." Said Kat. "Kale, pick us up halfway."
Five, humming, ten, running, thirteen, static, eighteen, can't stop, twenty, they're coming.
I'd never run so much in my life. Only three things kept me going: desperation, fear, and pig-headed stubbornness.
"Kale, I'm on floor seventy three. I can't go any further." Groaned Kat. "Come pick me up once you've got Cassy."
"Will do. Cassy, where are you?"
"Twenty two." I gasped.
"Can you make it to twenty five?"
I slumped to the ground. "Be there in a minute." I lay for a long while, waiting for breath to return. My lungs screamed and my legs felt numb. Too far, Cass, you pushed too far.
"Cassy? I'm here. Where are you?"
I closed my eyes.
"Where are you?"
The humming. The humming kept coming closer. Closer it came, threatening endless sleep.
I feel them now. Feel their darkness, see their light. Their flameless fire. Demons in our home.
"Cassy!"
"Coming." Pushing off from the ground and clambering to my feet I began to make my way up the steps.
Crash!
They were right behind me.
I let out a scream and fumbled up the stairs.
Twenty three.
They leaked up the stairs like a noxious gas, biting at my heels.
Twenty four.
They crawled up the walls surrounding and suffocating me.
Twenty five.
They reared up like a beast, reaching to grab me. Kale's shout mixed with mine.
"Come on!"
"No!" I screamed in frustration. "Leave me alone! Save the others!"
I could see them closely now. They looked like humans, but they were entirely monsters. Their faces had no shape, their bodies were long, arms reaching, and their eyes glowed with demonic, golden fire. I stumbled and fell. A thin hand reached for me. Putting up a hand to shield myself I screamed as flesh touched darkness and light, ice and flame, as my wrist seared with pain.
I was dying.
There was a snarl and something flew over my head. My arm was released and I watched as my savior vanished into darkness.
Strong hands grabbed my arms, pulling me to safety. Kale screamed when the shadows touched him, but he didn't drop me until we had made it to the elevator and the doors had shut, shielding us from the devils beyond.
My vision came in and out of focus. My lungs were dry and empty. My body was burning.
A hand stoked my face. "You're okay now. You're safe. I'm not leaving you."
"They're leaving!" It was Jamie. "The sun's rising! They're leaving!"
Kat burst into the elevator and we made it to the top floor.
"I'm sorry about Dusty." Letting out a wheezy cough, I gave what I hoped was a weak smile. "I know he was your favorite."
"No." The doors opened. Kale hoisted me into his arms, smiling sadly. My eyes fell closed and consciousness threatened to leave me. His breath tickled my ear. "No, you're by far my favorite."

The afternoon sun shone through the windows. I had slept all day and woke up unable to move for exhaustion. Bandages covered my wounds. Kale limped around looking more or less the same as myself, but while I lay helpless he helped the others prepare for the next attack.
"I have good news, and I have bad news." Announced Bubba. "The bad news it that the generator collapsed, so that means the elevator's down. There are only fifty intact doors between here and the bottom floor, which, as we learned from last night, wont help much. And we only have enough batteries to power seven flashlights for an hour each, which, frankly, isn't enough to last the night."
Pressing fingers to either temple, I sighed. "And the good news is?"
Bubba didn't smile. I missed his smile. "We know their weakness is light, we know what they do, and we have gunpowder."
"Gunpowder?" Kat frowned. "I don't see how that will help us."
Ross, leaned on a desk, eyes dark and brooding. "We can start fires, try and blow them up."
"We've created the biggest barrier we could, even dragging things off the streets to fill the spaces. We're barred in." Bubba continued, brow furrowed. "We have the trap all set. I think we're ready for them. Ready as we'll ever be."
"Do you think they'll come tonight?" Mint asked, squeezing my uninjured hand tightly.
I ruffled her mousy hair. "We don't know sweetie. We don't know."

Darkness came. And with the darkness came fear, came apprehension, came horror. It came the way it had before: cold, silent, deadly.
And there was nothing we could do about it.
But at least we would try.
"Ready guys?" I asked, rising shakily from the chair where I sat.
The five others nodded solemnly.
"The trap is set."
We watched as the Shadows advanced on the building, moving swiftly as death. They filled the city, once again arriving from the north and spreading into the streets.
Bubba smiled grimly. "Fire in the hole."
The entire outskirts of the city sky rocketed, sending up dust, rock, and rubble. Fire poured through the smoke and began to spread. It took all our resources to create this sort of attack. If it didn't work, nothing would.
"Did we get them all?" Jamie whispered from beside me.
As if in reply, the Shadow emerged from the smoke, but they shied away from the flame and there were much fewer. They streamed into a great body and continued their path toward us.
"They're still coming."
We hurried to the front door, where the Shadows threatened to break through the barricade and into our sanctuary. We waited in agonizing silence, as though hypnotized by the rhythmic hum that surrounded us, filling the air like a poisonous fume and suffocating us.
Then finally they broke through.
A flashlight flickered to life, holding the monsters at bay.
"They're coming up the elevator shaft!" Kat screamed, turning on another and pointing it fiercely in the other direction.
We then waited like this for sometime, praying that the sun would rise, that we would be safe when light dawned on the horizon. But the light gave way and batteries dimmed and died and we were forced to use the next set of flashlights. Then the next. Then the next until there was only one flashlight left to save us during our retreat. The last flashlight flickered out and we ran for safety.
Everyone screamed. Light flickered. Darkness hummed a song of death.
I burst through the door, then held it open to let everyone through.
One, two, I counted, three, four...
"Close it, close it!" Ross shouted, shutting the door just as a dark claw reached through the crack.
"No!" I screamed, grabbing the flashlight from his hands. "There's one more!" Flinging open the door a searched wildly,  using the flashlight's last light to search for the one missing, but there was no one there and the light died.
"Who's missing?" I whirled in a circle, counting again.
One, two, three, four, five is me.
Six is Jamie.
"Jamie!" Lunging for the door, I made for the handle.
From behind came the hands of my friends, pulling me away from Jamie. My Jamie, gone. She was gone.
"I promised." I sobbed. "I promised I'd take care of her. Promised I wouldn't let her die."
Golden light pierced the air, blinding me. The sun rose sickly yellow on the horizon.
I wouldn't cry. I couldn't cry. Not now. Not when we were so close. We were so close, Jamie.
"It's not your fault." Kat choked. We held on to each other tightly.
"It's not your fault," Kale agreed, hugging us tighly. "it couldn't be helped."
We stood and watched as the Shadows moved away.
"Time for plan C." Bubba whispered to himself and hurried away.
Ross pelted after him. "You don't have to do this." I heard him say, distantly.
A laugh. A bitter laugh. Then silence.
"What's he doing?" I asked. "What's plan C? I only heard of plan B."
Ross shrugged darkly, glaring at the floor. "Dunno."
Then I saw Bubba running. I saw him leading the Shadow away from the tower. I saw the dynamite.
And I knew what plan C was.
"How could you?" I screamed, turning on Ross, grabbing him by the shirt. "You knew! How could you let him do this?"
He lashed back with equal ferocity. "I tried! Do you think I wanted this? I even tried locking him up! I couldn't stop him. This is his choice. There was nothing else to do." With a growl he looked away. I could see guilt in his eyes. "He made the choice I was too much of a coward to make myself."
"Don't blame him." Bubba cut in through the comm unit. "It wasn't his choice, it was mine. I know you think this is stupid, but I've thought about it. There's no other way, Cass. They'll keep coming. At least I can keep you guys alive a little longer."
"Bubba," I hissed through tears. "we need you."
"No you don't." There was no regret in his voice, no contempt. He was only stating facts. "I've taught Ross all I know."
"But Bubba-"
"Look out the window."
I did. I saw him far below, surrounded in a sea of darkness. I could see him smiling, really, truly grinning his blinding grin.
Then he was gone.

We hardly prepare for the next attack. We were fighting a losing war and we blindly accepted it, but didn't surrender. We would never surrender.
Standing on the rooftop ledge, hands linked, we watched the approach. Wind ruffled our clothes and hair, sending chills across our skin. Each of us gripped our precious weapons. Ross held a kitchen lighter and a can of bug spray. Gripped in one hand, Kale had his saucepan. Kat and I wielded rusty metal rods. Far below, the city burned. Everything flammable had been set alight. Flamed licked the sky, casting the night into an eerie glow. And still the Shadows came in an endless onslaught.
The boys stepped down from the ledge. They each gave us a kiss on the forehead, a hug of farewell, and disappeared down the steps.
We never heard them scream, never saw them die, but sensed it with the dread in the pit of our stomachs.
Kat smiled pitifully. "I didn't think it would end. Not like this."
"No, never like this." I laughed.
She pressed her hand into mine and I squeezed back.
Then she too died.
We battled with the beasts on the rooftop, as they came up the sides like the monsters from under a bed. We fought and she died. Then I lit the ledge on fire and stood there, overlooking the city of desolation. The city of Oblivion.

More flames. More shadows. More death.
Would it ever end?
Yes, I decided, it would. It would end with mine.
Jamie was gone. So was Kat and Bubba too. Ross and Kale had died trying to save us. The boy on the roof, the first one to find me, I in my pajamas and he in his nightgown, was gone. The boy who and shined the flashlight in my face and made jokes with me about a dog and a raccoon so long ago,  was dead. So was the boy who raided my fridge one morning, who lived and died with a saucepan in his hands, living and dying to protect us. Protect us from everything from terrifying monsters to little boys with computers. All of them gone, taken from me.
Standing on the ledge, I let my toes hang over into nothingness, into oblivion. I'd always loved roofs, practically growing up in a world all my own. A world of dangerous heights, of probable death. Up there I created my own world, my own reality, waged wars against invisible enemies and always won. I always won.
This is me winning. This me winning this dream. No, this nightmare, of course. Is this really reality? Or will I wake up soon to find myself at home in the orphanage, with all the girls and boys and the headmistress. What were they like? I can't remember. It's like they never existed. Maybe they never did, or maybe they're simply gone. Gone, just like everyone I once cared for. There is nothing for me here. If this is reality, I don't want it.
I flung myself from the rooftop.


Part 2: Waking to Reality

Falling is an interesting sensation. Your heart flies to your mouth and your stomach plummets somewhere around the region of your gut. It seems the course of eternity passes before it ends. Before something breaks your fall, whether it be a parachute or in my case - the ground.
Yet the ground never came.

I sat up with a gasp. There was a bright light. Everything was white. I couldn't see.
My vision cleared slowly and I saw people, all around me.
A cheer broke out and they all applauded. A man next to me shook my hand. "That was an excellent performance! Yes, excellent, indeed." His smile stretched from ear to ear.
"Where am I?" I asked, panicked "What's going on?"
Another wide grin. "Don't you remember? You just made the most exciting advance in Hollywood history!"
"Hollywood?" I asked, confused. "Who are you? Where am I?"
"You must remember by now. You're in the filming room."
"Filming room? What are you talking about?" I couldn't help myself. Last I knew my friends had just died, and so had I, and in my mind's eye the city was still burning. I began to cry.
The room fell silent.


"If you're watching this, then the experiment has failed."
I watched myself on screen but I wasn't myself.
"I'm Monique Fleming, and I volunteered to take the first step into the most exciting advance in Hollywood history!" Her - my - smile flashed on screen. "Instead of spending money on special effects, filming sets, and costumes and props, scientists discovered a new way to produce movies using only the human brain." She - I - sounded like I was reading from a script. "The Camera takes images from the actor's brain and turns it into a visual, which is taped and then turned into a film. This technology has been used for many years, so experts decided to take it to another step. Instead of leaving actors in a conscious state and leaving them to act as before, why not take away that factor and give an entirely real reaction? Just as the actor enters the set, their memory is wiped and replaced with the memory of the character they are playing. As far as they know, that is who they are and all they ever were. As far as they know, the set is reality. Now," I seemed to drop the script, lapsing into a voice and composure that was just so much more myself, but still wasn't the me I knew now. "that's why I'm here. The experiment might not work. I might enter the set completely myself, or I may emerge someone else entirely. You may ask why I would do such a thing. Why would I risk losing everything I've ever know?" I took a deep breath the same time as my other self. "I'm Monique and I volunteered because I have nothing to lose."

Cameras follow me everywhere. They watched my every move, captured my every moment. I was never alone. Why would I be? I was famous! Everyone wanted the latest news on Monique Flemming, the girl I didn't know. Reporters and paparazzi swarmed like flies. At first the frightened me to death. Then I learned to shut them out. I learned to shut everyone out. Everyone except my friends.
Our reunion was the happiest moment of my waking life, as far as I could remember, which, frankly, wasn't far. Jamie was there, entirely and completely alive. Bubba approached me all in one piece. Kat and I hugged each other tearfully, our time on the roof fresh in our minds. Kale swept me up in his arms and spun me around, and Ross even planted a timid kiss.
Any time away from them was living hell. People I didn't recognize came to visit me. They claimed so many things: Monique, we've been friends since kindergarten, Monique, I was your favorite grade nine teacher, Monique, we've been dating for months. Monique, Monique, Monique, why can't you remember me? I tried, I honestly tried, but I couldn't for the life of me, and it was killing. So much anger, so much sorrow, so much pity from people I should've known. Yet to me they were strangers.
So I retreated to the only place that was familiar.
Once again I found myself on the rooftop, standing on the edge, wind in my hair, but there was no darkness, no fire, and my friends stood beside me, watching quietly, maybe even shedding a tear.
"I have a mom." I spoke finally. "I have a mom and a boyfriend and friends and teachers and I feel as though I've never met them in my life. Sure, my mum is mean, my boyfriend is a bum, and so are my friends and teachers, but they were my life and I have no idea who they are. For all I know I'm an orphan and a nobody and always have been." Taking a shaky breath I continued, filling the silence. "In my video to myself I said I volunteered because I had nothing to lose. Maybe I didn't. Maybe I did. I'll never know just how much I lost, if I did lose something or if I didn't realize how much I had to lose. I'll never find out." Jamie's hand slip into mine. Traffic flowed far beneath us, reminding me of the shadows of my nonexistent past. "You know, I jumped, before, when you had all died. You were dead. It was easy, really. There was nothing so I jumped. Even though I thought it was reality, I jumped because you were gone. Yet now, here I am and I don't believe this is real I want to jump but I can't because here you are."
Kale stepped off the ledge beside me and took my hand, pulling me away from the edge. The others followed and we held each other tightly, the only thing that made sense in the cruel world around us. "I know." He said. "We all know. We've all seen two versions of reality and we don't want either. But it will be okay, because here we are, you and me, and all of us, and it's going to be alright because here we are. Darkness never lasts because no matter what we come to believe the sun always rises. We're human. We try things and we learn from mistakes and somethings will be wrong but just enough of it will be good and it will be worth it. I mean look at us!" He grinned. "We're amazing and we'll be fine because here we are."